We Have Arrived!

Comayagua, Honduras officially has two more gringos! We are exhausted, but I really wanted to jot down today’s experiences. I am writing this from our new apartment…pictures soon we promise! It is located on the second level of a typical house, the owners live on the first floor. The stairs are quite steep and uneven, chances I will definitely be taking a spill down that at some time or another! Come to think of it, I actually fell up then on my first time using them – won’t be the last time I am sure!

Anyway, so Greg and I met in Miami yesterday (he was coming from Los Angeles after his final regular season game and I came from Ohio) for our last night in the Estados Unidos for a while. We had a nice dinner then headed back to the Springhill Suites to relax for the rest of the evening. We woke up this morning, both us in disbelief that we were actually moving to Honduras today! To be honest, it still hasn’t hit us! All went well at the airport in Miami this morning, our suitcases equaled 49, 50, 50, and 52 in weight after we did some major adjusting and shuffling items into our carry-ons.

We boarded the airplane right on time and at 1:40pm, we were off to Tegucigapla. There were definitely less than a handful of gringos on the plane (including us) but we just so happened to be assigned seats next to a fellow American. We got to talking with him, and he is a working as a contracted project manager on the military base in Comayagua. (½ American and ½ Honduran). He was extremely insightful, gave us his contact information, and even offered to try and get us clearance to have privileges on the base. We knew it wasn’t a coincidence that we met him – God continues to be faithful as he has since we decided to follow his call.

Upon arriving in Tegucigalpa got through customs with no problems. We grabbed our bags then were off to the waiting area to meet the school representatives picking us up. I was so excited because they were holding a sign with our names on it! I have never experienced that before, so I felt pretty special! There to meet us were Pastor Trundle (principal) and his two children (Eduardo and Nicole) and the school administrator, Loyda. We loaded up the vehicles and were Comayagua bound! Greg and I rode with Pastor Trundle so he could bring us up to speed on the game plan for the next few weeks (school doesn’t start until August 27). I found out that I will be teaching 4th grade homeroom. He said I will be very busy with a full schedule and will be teaching a new Language Arts program that incorporates grammar, spelling and reading. I am excited as I really enjoy those subjects – I do have a degree in Communications! Greg learned that he will be teaching algebra and geometry. However, Pastor Trundle asked if he would be comfortable teaching physics instead as that is an area of need for the school. Greg agreed to look at a text book to be sure he felt confident that he could do it, but is up for the challenge either way! He also expressed and interest in teaching physical education, and discovered that there is need for a teacher in the subject! So looks like he may be teaching physics and PE! We are both so excited! We also learned that there will be 8 more missionaries coming. Greg and I are the first 2 to arrive, and the more will be here on Wednesday.
We finally arrived in Comayagua around 4:30pm. We came straight to our apartment after a brief tour of the town. (We drove by the Hogar de Ninos – orphanage!) Our apartment has a bedroom, kitchen, sitting area and office. It is a nice place, but will take a little time to get used to. We definitely have to but some Bice touches on make if feel more ‘homey.’ I am sure you will hear a lot more about our humble abode as days go by! J I can already tell you that storage space is going to be an issue! (That’s just part of the adventure though, right!?)

After dropping off our stuff at the apartment, Loyda shared that as a welcome to us, they would take us to the Supermercado Jumbo to pick up groceries and other necessities….on them! Before we were off though, Pastor Trundle a work of prayer – it was very kind and we really appreciated his kind words. Next, we loaded up the truck and Greg, Loyda and I were off to the store. That was quite an experience! J I had no idea really what we needed, since we had only been in our apartment for a short time! We got some cleaning supplies, paper products and laundry soap then headed for the food! Again, not knowing what were really needed, we picked up a random plethora of groceries. I was quite proud of myself though as I was able to spot the only organic item in the place – of course I bought it! Ragu spaghetti sauce – certified Organic! J We bought brand names we recognized as much as possible and did our best to read the nutrition facts and ingredients (most of them were in Spanish, and some items didn’t even have them at all!) I am sure some trans fat snuck into our cart somehow, but ignorance is bliss! Oh, and I am about 90% sure we bought whole milk (we normally drink 1%). 5,250 Lempira later, we were outta there! (Approximately $280 US dollars) I felt sorta bad letting them pick up the tab for the hefty spending spree, but Loyda assured me that it was fine and they were happy to do so! She encouraged us to take advantage of the opportunity as it only happens once! Oh, and while we were there, we met 2 other teachers (locals).

Loyda then took us to Mendel’s so we could purchase some sheets for our sweet double bed. We found some for 585 Limps (around $30) so we grabbed ‘em. We walked back to our apartment (about 7 blocks…1 block makes up 2-3 city blocks in America). It was getting dark and everything was closing by that time. We tried to stop at an Internet Café so we could notify the fam that we made it here safely, but unfortunately, it was closed. So with no other options, we decided to head home and start unpacking. I did my best to clean the kitchen and organize the appliances (blender, toaster and electric burners) and cupboards (again, we have minimal storage space). Greg toasted up some grilled cheese sandwiches, and then the unpacking started! Well, sort of. I got out most of our toiletries, emptied our carry ons and electronics, then decided I was worn out! I wanted to record today’s events, so I sat down and just started typing! It is now about 9:45pm (11:45pm in the states) and I think I am going to call it a night! Greg has been reading in bed, and has already warned me that the sheets are quite itchy – I can’t wait! hehehe! We have to be at the school tomorrow morning at 8 am…I look forward to what day 2 will bring!

Good night!